The daily life of raising 4 wild and wonderful boys and one spunky and amazing daughter.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

A Victory

I love to read and I want my kids to love reading too. From the time they were babies I have been reading to my kids. It's my favorite part of the day. I love to snuggle up and read with all my babes next to me.

Nothing makes my heart soar like seeing one of my kids sitting down with a book immersed in it. The quiet it provides is an added bonus!

Mr. P is a reading machine. He likes to read entire series of books. He's read the Harry Potter series....twice. Then he discovered the Percy Jackson books and he loved them. He also read that series twice. He often has two books going at the same time....not literally the same time but he will read a few chapters of one book at school and then a different book at home. I cannot do that. Too confusing. He also likes to read comic type books like Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, etc.

I've been working with Moses to get him reading chapter books for about a year now. He is a very capable reader....he scores above grade level. He spends a lot of time reading and always reads in bed before going to sleep. He was getting lots of practice but wouldn't do chapter books. All last summer I spent time suggesting books to him, having the librarian suggest books, having former teachers suggest books. We would check them out but he had little interest and wouldn't finish them. I tried many of my mommy tricks....I'd read a chapter out loud to get him interested, I begged, I cajoled, I bribed. And finally his teacher this year said he HAS to do it. So, she and I picked a book....made him read it....made him take a test on it.

After that....still no interest....and then....he decided to read the first of the Harry Potter books. It is above his reading level but okay I thought....give it a go! He spent a few weeks with the book and went about 20 pages before deciding not to read it. Ugh!

But then...a magical thing happened. He checked out at school the first in the Percy Jackson series. I wondered if it was too hard. It also is above his reading level. But the magic happened and he loved the book. Suddenly I couldn't get him to answer me....he was too engrossed in this book. He was reading ALL THE TIME.

Then the best part happened. He went to school and took the AR test on the book. It was a big test....for a big book. He passed with 100%!!!! Wow!!! Then the next best part happened. He immediately checked out the next book and began furiously reading it!! He's now on book three and I have one thing to say.....

2 comments:

It takes awhile for all of our brain to "get the reading thing" - and some folks do non-fiction better than fiction. But, bottom line, back in the day when only a small, select portion of humanity even had the opportunity to read - the Sumerians about 2,000 years before the birth of Christ, this was one of the recorded lines from more than one apprentice - "I read to my master and then he caned me." I am so glad your children grew up with the magic of words - so feet might drag in the mud but nobody had to be caned to learn the beauty and value of the written word - and how it both gives and receives. Okay, too long a post - but I am so happy that reading is happening in the life of your family.

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Wild at Heart Family

About Me

I'm a stay at home mom with four beautiful boys (five counting my husband) and one beautiful girl that keep me hopping and challenge me to laugh and have fun everyday. Two of our children were adopted from Ethiopia. And...our youngest two babies came to our family the same week! We are Orthodox Christians striving to live out our faith.